Sunak 'Not Under Pressure' From PM

THE Chancellor has said there was no pressure from the Prime Minister to announce a package of financial support for UK households a day after Boris Johnson came under pressure due to the release of the Sue Gray report.

Speaking to the Treasury Select Committee, Rishi Sunak denied suggestions that his £21 billion package of support to offset soaring inflation and energy prices was used to direct attention away from the fallout over the report.

Committee member and Labour MP Rushanara Ali asked Mr Sunak if he came under political pressure to announce the package in May after he suggested he may wait until the autumn to hand out funds to hard-hit households.

The Chancellor said: "No. The way the price cap works, there is an observation window from February to August, until you are through you don't know what it will be while there were estimates, there was no actual data.